Three-dimensional (3D) printer vendor XYZ Printing Inc (三緯) yesterday said it plans to launch four or five new models this year as part of its effort to sell more than 1 million units of 3D printers globally by 2016.
The new models will target the general consumer market, as well as medical and healthcare companies, and industrial product makers, Simon Shen (沈軾榮), chairman of XYZ Printing told reporters on the sidelines of a 3D forum in Taipei.
“The 3D printer market is the only market that can achieve 100 percent growth in shipment volume over the next three years. The smartphone or tablet markets can no longer achieve similar growth,” Shen said.
He said that the printers that are used to make applications for general crafts and animation models would see their average selling price falling to between US$499 and US$599 per unit, while demand for those used to manufacture prosthetic devices and medical aids could see an upsurge in the next five to 10 years.
Since last year, XYZ Printing has been involved in several international studies to develop technologies for the medical field, Shen said, but the company’s product line still remains consumer-focused, not business or corporate-oriented at the moment.
In the third quarter, XYZ Printing plans to launch a new model that fuses acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), one of the world’s most widely used thermoplastic materials, to make animation and toy models, Shen said.
XYZ Printing’s first product this year will be priced at between US$499 and US$599 and designed primarily for the public to make animation models in two colors.
The company is the 3D printer manufacturing arm of local electronics conglomerate New Kinpo Group (新金寶集團). In August last year, it unveiled its inaugural printer, “da Vinci 1.0,” which started sales in Taiwan last month with a NT$15,000 price tag, Shen said.
The printer was also shipped to China and Japan late last month, and the US market will be explored this month, he added.
PATENTS: MediaTek Inc said it would not comment on ongoing legal cases, but does not expect the legal action by Huawei to affect its business operations Smartphone integrated chips designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) on Friday said that a lawsuit filed by Chinese smartphone brand Huawei Technologies Co (華為) over alleged patent infringements would have little impact on its operations. In an announcement posted on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, MediaTek said that it would not comment on an ongoing legal case. However, the company said that Huawei’s legal action would have little impact on its operations. MediaTek’s statement came after China-based PRIP Research said on Thursday that Huawei filed a lawsuit with a Chinese district court claiming that MediaTek infringed on its patents. The infringement mentioned in the lawsuit likely involved
Taipei is today suspending work, classes and its US$2.4 trillion stock market as Typhoon Gaemi approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Authorities had yesterday issued a warning that the storm could affect people on land and canceled some ship crossings and domestic flights. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) expects its local chipmaking fabs to maintain normal production, the company said in an e-mailed statement. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp said it has activated routine typhoon alert
GROWTH: TSMC increased its projected revenue growth for this year to more than 25 percent, citing stronger-than-expected demand for AI devices and smartphones The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院) yesterday raised its forecast for Taiwan’s GDP growth this year from 3.29 percent to 3.85 percent, as exports and private investment recovered faster than it predicted three months ago. The Taipei-based think tank also expects that Taiwan would see a 8.19 percent increase in exports this year, better than the 7.55 percent it projected in April, as US technology giants spent more money on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and development. “There will be more AI servers going forward, but it remains to be seen if the momentum would extend to personal computers, smartphones and
Catastrophic computer outages caused by a software update from one company have once again exposed the dangers of global technological dependence on a handful of players, experts said on Friday. A flawed update sent out by the little-known security firm CrowdStrike Holdings Inc brought airlines, TV stations and myriad other aspects of daily life to a standstill. The outages affected companies or individuals that use CrowdStrike on the Microsoft Inc’s Windows platform. When they applied the update, the incompatible software crashed computers into a frozen state known as the “blue screen of death.” “Today CrowdStrike has become a household name, but not in